Romans 1:16-17;  16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

  The content of verses 16 and 17 lies at the Heart of this epistle and sets the tone for the rest of the book.  Here Paul declares . . .

A.  The Power of the Gospel vs.  16a

“ ...I am not ashamed of the gospel...it is the power of God for salvation”

  Duvnami§.  Power: The mighty power of God to save lost sinners by means of the Gospel!  Paul practiced that principle;  1st Corinthians 2:3-5; 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

B.  The Universality of the Gospel vs.  16b

“ . . . for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Paul was divinely called as an Apostle to the Gentiles but he had a genuine burden to his fellow-countrymen.   Romans 10:1  Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. Galatians 2:7,8;  7  “ . . . I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles),”  Paul develops these themes demonstrating how God works to bring both Jews and Gentiles into the body of Christ.

C.  The Essence of the Gospel vs.  17

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

1.  It is a Matter of Righteousness

Paul identifies the key element of the Gospel as The Righteousness of  God.  This is essential for a proper understanding of the Gospel.  Paul develops this further in chapter 3.  Suffice it for now to note;

a.  The Righteousness of God and God

Although a prominent attribute of God is His righteousness; what is in view here has more to do with God’s standard than with His nature.  The Gospel reveals God’s absolute sense of justice in punishing sin as well as His perfect right to pardon the sinner!  Paul says in Romans 3:26   “for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

b.  The Righteousness of God and Man

Man lost his righteous standing when he sinned in Adam and so falls short of God’s righteous demands.         Romans 3:10-12;              10 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;

11 There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

c.  The Righteousness of God and Believers

God in loving kindness imputes to us His righteousness.  See . . .

2nd Corinthians 5:21  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What a MIRACLE!!!!!  What AMAZING GRACE!!!!!

2.  It is a Matter of Faith

“. . . the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith . . .”

This Divine Righteousness is our new position before God by FAITH;

Romans 5:1 “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

3.  It is a Matter of Life

“from faith to faith; as it is written,

“But the righteous man shall live by faith.””

FAITH is not only the instrument of SALVATION, it is the instrument of SERVICE.  It is the foundation for living the Christian life unto a Holy and Just God. 

2nd Corinthians 5:7     — for we walk by faith, not by sight—

Once we lay hold of this truth, our lives are transformed and we can truly say with Paul,   “ I can do all things through Him

who strengthens me.”  Philippians 4:13

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.”  Acts 16:31